Sixties Essay, Research Paper

The Sixties were an extremely exciting and revolutionary time of great social

and

technological change. The changes throughout this era included:

assassination, unforgettable

fashions in clothing, new music styles, civil rights, gay and women?s

liberation, a controversial

war in Vietnam, the first man landing on the moon, peace marches, World

Fairs, flower power,

great TV and film and sexual freedom. Throughout the sixties you will find

many great

memories including: the Kennedy?s, the Space Program, Woodstock, Martin

Luther King?s

movements, and artists such as, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Peter,

Paul, and Mary,

The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and the Stones.

The 35th president to the United States of America, was the youngest ever to

be elected.

John F. Kennedy held office between the years of 1961 and 1963. He was

assassinated before he

completed his third year as president, and the nation went into great morning

for the one of the

most popular presidents of all time. His achievements, in both foreign and

domestic affairs, were

therefore limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, his handling

during the Cuban

Missile Crisis may have very well prevented war. The youth of America admired

him, and

perhaps no other president was ever so well liked by the majority of the

population. Kennedy

brought with him to the presidency an awareness of cultural and historical

traditions of the U.S.

Because Kennedy?s time in office eloquently represented the values of the

20th century America,

his presidency had an importance beyond its legislative and political

achievements Hours after

Kennedy?s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the new

president of the

United States. Johnson served from 1963 to 1969. He was one of the most

masterful politicians

in the history of the Congress of the United States. He was not an innovator

of programs or

ideas, however he excelled in getting things done. In foreign affairs,

Johnson pursued the basic

postwar policy of containing Communism. Johnson also reflected many great

values of the era,

and was considered a well liked president.

The sixties was a time of enormous change in civil rights in the U. S. In the

early 1950’s,

racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Although

all schools in a

given district were suppose to be equal, most black schools were far inferior

to the white

counterparts. During 1951 and 1952, the Brown vs. Board of Education trial

took place. This

movement was for segregation in schools to be demolished. The Supreme Court?s

Brown vs.

Board of Education decision did not abolish segregation in other public

areas. It did however,

declare permissive and mandatory segregation that existed in 21 states

unconstitutional. It was a

giant step towards desegregation of public schools. Even partial

desegregation of these schools,

however, was still very far away, as would soon become apparent In 1955,

Montgomery had a

municipal law which required all black citizens to ride in the back of city

buses. On December

1st of that year, Rosa Parks, a forty-two year old seamstress, refused to

give her seat up for a

white passenger, and was therefore arrested for this act. Montgomery?s

black community saw

this incident as an opportunity to stage a protest against the city?s

segregation laws. Led by

Martin Luther King Jr, the ?father? of the civil rights movements, the

boycott of using city buses

lasted until 1956. In November of 1956, the Supreme Court declared

segregation on city buses

unconstitutional. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a very significant event in

the civil rights

movement that spanned the 1960’s. The boycott was important because it caught

the attention of

the whole nation, and set the tone for the whole civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King Jr,

was given leadership within the national movement, and it also showed that

the nonviolent

method of protest was effective.

All throughout history, very few people can recall a period of time when the

United

States of America has not been at war or in conflict with another country.

One of the longest

spanning wars, was the Cold War, which consisted of political and economical

disagreements

after WWII between the United States and the former Soviet Union (USSR).

Before this time,

they had been allies and a direct military conflict had not occur between the

two superpowers.

However, many intense economic and diplomatic struggles did erupt. The

development of the

Cold War can be traced through several events in world history, the Berlin

Blockade, the

Marshall Plan, and also the Cuban Missile Crisis. The seeds for tensions

between these two

countries were planted before World War II, so an exact cause of the war is

difficult to pin point.

The Marshall plan was to help Europe rebuild itself, while the U. S. also

profited greatly. The

Soviet Union, however, wanted to give aid to Europe by instilling the

influence of communism.

Therefore the Soviet Union opposed the Marshall Plan. Thus the cold war

began. One of the

events that nearly ended the Cold War and began a nuclear war was the Cuban

Missile Crisis.

On October 16, 1962, President Kennedy was informed that missiles had been

found on Cuba.

This crisis, now gave the USSR the upper hand in negotiations and warfare.

The United States

then put a quarantine in action. At the time, the U.S. had nuclear missiles

sites in Turkey. The

United States and the Soviet Union agreed that Turkey and Cuba were to be

ridden of any

nuclear weapons, leading the Cold War one step further towards an end. The

Cold War was

probably one of the most important events in American History. This period of

time, helped

control and put a limitation on the nuclear power used by countries.

It started on the 8 August 1965 when American Troops stormed ashore at Da

Nang,

South of Vietnam, ready to fight the bloodiest war known to man.. The reason

was simple: there

was a communist threat and their [The US] job was to resist it. Both

presidents, Kennedy and

Johnson, took an active part in preparing and sending U. S. troops to

Vietnam. There were over

900,000 casualties in all. In many American?s eyes, the Vietnam war was

lost in many ways. Not

only did we fail in confining communism by the end of the war in 1975, but

also there were a

enormous amount of casualties. Vietnamese women, children, and whole cities

were demolished

without a thought during this war, and much of the disasters go un accounted

for.

The sixties were an era filled with peace, love and happiness for many

people. It was a

time of seeking new rights for many, and freedom for all of man kind.

Protesting became a

traditional hobby of the hippies of the 1960’s. Anti-war protests were also

common all

throughout this time period. Music also took a drastic change in the sixties,

and artists of this

time would never be forgotten in mind or spirit. All the changes that came

about due to the

sixties, shaped the world we live in today. Even the youth of the 90’s seems

to be nostalgic to the

sixties era, in clothing, music styles, freedom movements, and the push for

independence.